News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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Sponsored 5 best wine bars in Bangkok offering rich and quality wine
It’s wine o’clock! Whether you’re all about fruity reds, sweet whites, or funky naturals, Bangkok has many great spots to sip your favourite varieties. But with an array of options to choose from, and the constant rise and fall of...
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Health officials say 50% of Thais will receive Covid-19 vaccine this year
The chief of the Department of Disease Control, part of the Ministry of Public Health, says plans are underway to vaccinate 30 million Thais by the end of 2021. Opas Karnkawinpong says thousands of public and community hospitals across the country will be involved in the national vaccine rollout, with vaccines distributed from central storage sites at the Department of…
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China ready to export vaccine to Thailand, delivery will be “as soon as possible”
The Acting Chinese Ambassador to Thailand has confirmed that vaccine manufacturer Sinovac Biotech is ready to export its Covid-19 jab to Thailand. Yang Xin was on a courtesy call with Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, when he confirmed the vaccine has been approved for export to the Kingdom. The exact date when Thailand can expect to receive the vaccine has not…
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Thai school director resigns after sexual abuse and firearms charges
The school director who pulled out a gun during a school assembly amid allegations that he sexually abused a student has resigned. After a student’s mother filed a police complaint accusing the director of rape and depriving a child of parental protection, 60 year old Sayan Chaleephol made a public apology at a school assembly for his “personal problem” and…
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Cannabis and pandan Thai sweets to be added to Bangkok dessert shop’s menu
Cannabis will soon be on the menu at a Bangkok dessert shop. Kanom Siam is adding cannabis leaves to their pandan and coconut pancakes. And no, the pancakes won’t get you high. The shop posted a photo on Facebook of the bright green desserts with a cannabis leaf on top. They say the dessert has an aroma of pandan mixed…
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Foreign man and Thai woman injured in motorcycle accident
A foreign man and a Thai woman were severely injured in a motorcycle accident after their Suzuki Hayabusa 1340cc collided with a songthaew in Samut Prakan, just southeast of Bangkok. 36 year old Kanokphan and 44 year old Nicholas were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Nicholas was treated at the scene for injuries to his head, knee and…
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CCSA Update: 186 new Covid-19 cases
186 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing, a major drop in daily infections in recent weeks. Thailand now has 6,068 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic, Thailand has reported 23,557 Covid-19 infections and 79 coronavirus-related deaths. Most of the new cases were detected in Samut Sakhon, the epicentre…
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Thai Airways lays off hundreds of pilots under debt rehabilitation plan
Hundreds of pilots will be laid off under Thai Airway’s debt rehabilitation plan. The cash-strapped airline, which is buried in a debt around 300 billion baht, has also decided to ground 3 types of aircrafts: the Airbus A330-300 and A380, and the Boeing 747. After months of tackling bankruptcy amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Thai Airways decided to lay off 395…
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South Africa stalls AstraZeneca vaccine campaign after trial found “minimal protection” against new strain
South Africa’s rollout of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine has been put on pause following reports that it only provides “minimal protection” for the new strain of the virus first detected in South Africa. The country will continue plans to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed in partnership with Oxford University, only provides limited…
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Burmese nationals rally outside UN office in Bangkok to protest against Myanmar coup
Hundreds of Burmese nationals gathered outside the United Nations office in Bangkok to protest against the military coup in their home country. Many raised their hands in the 3-finger salute, a symbol of resistance and democracy taken from the movie the Hunger Games and widely used in Thailand’s pro-democracy movement. Some protesters held photos of Aung San Suu Kyi, the…
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Chon Buri dog shelter has 40% drop in donations during pandemic
A shelter for stray dogs in Chon Buri not only nurses injured and sick street dogs back to health, it also provides more than 2 dozen dogs with special wheelchairs. Every day the dogs are taken for a walk along a dirt path. With the wheels serving as their hind legs, the dogs can freely walk along a dirt path.…
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Police bust alleged illegal surrogacy ring, Thai women allegedly gave birth for overseas buyers
An alleged illegal transnational surrogacy ring, posed as a cleaning company, was busted by Thailand’s cybercrime police after surrogate mothers were unable to deliver the children to buyers overseas due to travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, investigators say. Officers from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau raided 10 locations suspected of being involved in the underground transnational surrogacy network, arresting…
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How Thai mega-villa buyers have reignited Phuket’s luxury real estate market in the downturn
The following story was submitted by Bill Barnett, founder and managing director of C9 Hotelworks. Phuket’s sizable mega-villa property sector has experienced an unexpected surge in multi-million-dollar sales over the past year as Thai buyers sought refuge in the global Covid-19 crisis. Over 5 billion baht (approximately $167 million USD) in primary and secondary high-end properties transacted at the height…
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Thailand News Today | Week In Review | February 6
Thailand News Today covers five days of the news week. Now we have a weekend edition which goes over the biggest, or best stories, from the past week. Out every Saturday afternoon, catch up with Jett and Tim’s major Thai news stories. Welcome to the Thailand News Today Weekend Edition.
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Where are Thailand’s bar girls? Up to a million people out of work | VIDEO
https://youtu.be/UD-ymVlW3PU We know about the challenges in Thailand’s hotel industry. We know about the grounded planes and the problems with aviation. We know about the vendors and the tour company employees who have survived on a steady flow of tourists for decades. But there is another hidden victim of the lockdowns and border closures, an industry which is the largest…
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Craft beer association proposes rules for re-opening Bangkok bars
The Craft Beer Association has proposed new rules in the hope that Bangkok’s bars might be allowed to re-open after a month-long closure aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19. The rules include limiting drinks to 2 per customer, limiting sitting time to 90 minutes, and banning dancing and toasts. The association says it has come up with the rules…
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Siberian tiger re-captured after escaping from cage in western Thailand – VIDEO
Staff from the Khao Son Wildlife Breeding Station in the western province of Ratchaburi have re-captured a Siberian tiger who escaped as workers were trying to close its cage. Nation Thailand reports that Aura, a 10 year old female tiger, broke out of her cage and fled, after frightening 2 workers. VIDEO: Thai PBS News Pakpoom Pidthong from the Khao…
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British man arrested on Koh Samui for alleged meth-fuelled shooting spree on speedboat
A 33 year old British man has been arrested on the holiday island of Samui for allegedly firing gunshots from a speedboat while high on drugs. According to a report in the UK’s Daily Mail, Benjamin Robert Simpson, a cryptocurrency trader, allegedly fired a handgun several times, in the direction of the Four Seasons Hotel, where he was a guest.…
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Tourism Minister to request 5 million vaccine doses for tourism sector
The Tourism Minister is planning to meet with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to request 5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for workers across 7 tourist cities. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is also pushing for a vaccine passport scheme that would allow international tourists to return in the third quarter of the year. The 5 million vaccine doses would cover 2.5 million tourism…
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Thailand News Today | Principal pulls out gun, rare orange pearl | February 5
AstraZeneca says it will send 150,000 doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to Thailand from a plant in Asia, as a result of an EU ruling that restricts exports of the vaccine to countries outside the bloc. The doses had been due to come from Italy. Thailand’s Health Minister says officials have received a letter from the pharmaceutical giant that explains…
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Thai police arrest 35 people for allegedly spreading fake news on Covid-19
Thai police arrested 35 people for allegedly spreading false information about the coronavirus. Some posts shared online claimed that migrant workers had broken out of a quarantine facility, another claimed that the coronavirus is actually not a virus, but a bacteria somehow connected to 5G spectrum radio frequencies. Only 4 people actually wrote posts online with false information while the…
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Clinical trials confirm AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective
The following is a news release from biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. Thailand secured 61 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca, developed in partnership with Oxford University. With European Union’s newly-imposed restrictions on Covid-19 vaccine exports, AstraZeneca will now send a batch of 150,000 doses of its vaccine to Thailand from a factory in Asia, rather than from Italy…
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Party Covid-Cluster: Celebrity says alcohol was “secretly” brought to rooftop bar, breaking Bangkok’s booze ban
Alcohol was “secretly” brought to DJ Techin Ploypetch’s birthday party in Bangkok, the celebrity says. The January 9 party became a notorious Covid-19 cluster when the DJ and at least 25 other people tested positive for Covid-19 after attending the party. The celebrity, also known as DJ Matoom, has been criticised by many Thais for acting like he is “above…
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LA artist behind portrait of murdered Thai man condemns surge in racist violence
The US artist behind a portrait of an elderly Thai man who died after a brutal attack outside his San Francisco home, has voiced his disgust and sadness at the rise in anti-Asian sentiment in the US. Los Angeles artist Jonathan D. Chang drew the portrait of 84 year old Vicha Ratanapakdee and posted it on Instagram as a tribute…
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Man arrested in northeast Thailand, accused of producing fake bank notes
Police in the north-eastern province of Si Sa Ket have arrested a 37 old man accused of producing counterfeit currency. Phichaphob Phankham was detained at a property in the Nong Phai district as part of an investigation into a trail of fake 100 baht notes in circulation in Si Sa Ket and neighbouring provinces. Police say his arrest follows the…
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Krabi mayor hopeful tourism crisis will be over soon
As is the case in many popular tourist spots in Thailand, the economy in the southern province of Krabi has been decimated due to Covid-19. Nation Thailand reports that tourist numbers in Krabi have fallen sharply, from a yearly average of 6 million to just 1.5 million last year. Revenue from tourism has plummeted from around 120 billion baht to…
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Thailand to receive additional AstraZeneca jabs from Asia factory, amid EU export row
AstraZeneca says it will send 150,000 doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to Thailand from a plant in Asia, as a result of an EU ruling that restricts exports of the vaccine to countries outside the bloc. The doses had been due to come from Italy. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says officials have received a letter from the pharmaceutical giant that…
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Officials introduce stricter “seal and bubble” measures for Samut Sakhon factory workers
Health officials in the central province of Samut Sakhon, epicentre of the Covid-19 resurgence, say they will introduce tougher restrictions on factory workers in a bid to suppress the spread of the virus. The “seal and bubble” measures are being introduced after the discovery of nearly 8,000 cases during proactive testing at 7 factories in the province in recent weeks.…
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HM the King donates 2 tonnes of pet food to Soi Dog Foundation
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has donated 2 tonnes of dog and cat food to the Soi Dog Foundation, as well as a number of other animal welfare organisations. The donation marks the birthday of Chao Khun Phrasinat Philas Kalayanee Kalayani, His Majesty’s royal noble consort. The food was presented to Soi Dog and 13 other organisations during a ceremony at…
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Police seize 500,000 baht worth of illegal whitening cream in multiple raids
More than 500,000 baht worth of unregistered skin whitening cream containing banned substances, an initial examination found, were seized in factory raids in Chachoengsao, Sa Kaeo, Chon Buri and Ayutthaya. The “Cambodian cream with red cover” was advertised on social media with claims that it could whiten skin within 7 days no matter how dark the skin is. Apparently, the…
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Muay Thai trainer opens restaurant to make up for losses during pandemic
A Muay Thai trainer opened up a restaurant in Bangkok after his Thai boxing camp lost more than 80% of its revenue, adding to business downfalls brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. The trainer, Charoenthong Khunmanee, says the number of trainees also drastically dropped. The gym went from an average of 20 to 30 trainees to only 5 or 6.…
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